Hypothermia
by KAthetomboy
Summary: After Batman allows Robin (Dick) on a solo mission, he soon found it was a mistake he would pay for. (Reference from Broken, Battered and Not Whelmed)


**Story: BRUCE'S P.O.V**

The icy winds whipped about me, but I couldn't stop, not with Robin's life on the line. I was nearing the place where his tracker last sent out a signal.

"Robin!" I called out, trying to peer through the thick snow flying about.

After roughly five minutes of trudging through snow, I found him. I knelt down and caressed his face. It felt like ice and a small track of frozen blood trailed down from his temple.

"I'm sorry Dick, I shouldn't have let you come here, at least not alone" I gently picked my unconscious and freezing son out of the snow.

The snow had managed to get into the engine of the batplane, so we took refuge at a nearby cave I found along the way. Deep in the cave, avoiding most of the wind and snow, I created a fire and lay Dick down beside it.

 _'I knew I should've went myself or at least have sent someone with him. I ignored my instincts and now Dick might die'_

The fire wasn't doing very much so I draped my cape over him, it did nothing to stop his shivering.

 _'His hypothermia is only in the moderate zone, I should be able to keep him alive'_

I sat beside him watching as he stopped shaking. Minutes, hours, I'm not sure, passed and all I did was sit there watching him. _My son_ , slowly thaw out.

"I'm sorry" I whispered, even though he probably couldn't hear me "I'm sorry" I repeated with tears running down my face as I observed his pale features "I shouldn't have let you go, this is wrong, you can't die"

I tore my eyes away from my freezing son, waiting for the league to arrive and hoping he didn't die before they did. I felt his forehead, it had gone from gelid to cold. My eyes closed against my will and I leant against the wall. Dick lay motionless by the fire but his breathing still stable. I allowed myself to rest.

I woke to the quiet but familiar humming of the invisible jets engine. Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and Flash walked into the cave. Flash sped over and observed Robin.

"His hypothermia is pretty bad, the sooner we get him out of here the better"

"Yeah, like I didn't already know that" I growled and stood up.

Flash wore a look somewhere between hurt and sorry. Superman was obviously refraining from lecturing me on being 'nicer', he's smart enough to know not to mess with me when something has happened to someone I care for. Green Arrow and Wonder Woman shared a concerned glance but remained quiet. I picked Robin up and walked out to the invisible jet. I placed Robin beside me and waited for Wonder Woman to start the jet.

(WATCHTOWER)

I checked over the wounds inflicted upon him by Bane. Three fractured ribs, the tiny cut along his temple and a cut along his back that I hadn't noticed, probably because the blood was frozen at the time. After helping his injuries as best I could, I laid some heat blankets over him. They helped Dick's body to warm up faster and eventually he regained his consciousness. His sapphire eyes flickered open and rested upon me.

"Da-dad?"

"I'm here, son" I took his hand.

Dick moved and winced "How many?"

"Three"

"Only three? I expected Bane to be more destructive"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that it was Bane, I-"

"Exactly, you didn't know, so it's not _your_ fault he managed to beat me up. Though I'm still shocked that I haven't got any more than a few broken ribs"

"You also have a large cut along your back"

"Oh yeah, still trying to figure out _where_ he got that knife from"

"You sure you're alright?"

"Just a little cold"

"Well, you _did_ have hypothermia"

"I-I did? How long was I out in the snow?"

"Around forty minutes to an hour"

"Oh" Dick turned his head away.

"Dick? What is it?"

"I saw.. _them_ "

It took a second for me to catch on "Oh. And what happened?"

"I don't remember, I just kinda saw them, they smiled at me and then all I saw was _darkness_ , 'til I woke up. I miss them, Bruce" Dick's eyes were filling with tears.

"I know you do"

"Will that feeling _ever_ go away?"

"No, but you learn to move on"

Dick laid back down in bed and I wished I knew how to console him.

"Wally's outside"

"Really? Can I see him?"

"Sure I'll go and get him"

I left the two alone, but stood by the door to listen.

"How are you, _Mister_ _Freeze_?"

"Oh I'm just _great_ Wally, I only nearly died from _hypothermia_ " Dick emphasized sarcastically.

"I think you're exaggerating just a bit"

" _Felt_ like I was dying" He answered, dead serious.

"What else?"

"There _is_ nothing else"

"Dick, I can tell when you're lying"

I heard Dick sigh "I saw my parents"

Wally made a slight choking noise "How? Did they talk to you? Does that mean that you _died_?"

" _No_ , at least I'm pretty sure I didn't. I just saw them for a brief moment, they smiled at me and then they _faded_ and I was left with only darkness, I can't remember anything else"

"That's-"

"It doesn't matter" Dick intervened.

"Right, sorry"

"How's your leg?"

"Better than your ribs"

"Wow, Wally, just wow"

"I can almost run full speed again"

"That's good"

"So" Wally cleared his throat "What exactly, uh, _happened_?"

"Well, after I got there, I found the place where the signal originated. I opened the door and Bane was just sitting there. When he noticed me, which was immediately, he threw me out the door. I tried to fight back and he grabbed a knife, still not sure where from, he cut my back and when I turned around he punched me again, breaking three of my ribs. I saw him go back into the cabin and then he left, with a laptop, I think. I felt him pick me up and then throw me into the snow, so that when Batman came, he wouldn't see his hideout, or at least that's what I'm assuming. I tried to get up, but I fell back down and lost consciousness. You know what happened then"

"At least you're alright, I don't know what I'd do if you _did_... you know"

"Ditto" I could hear the smile in Dick's voice.

I left the two to talk without me eavesdropping and went off to meet with the rest of the Justice League.

(END)

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Point of this story? To give Dick hypothermia and make Bruce feel sad. I had this idea months ago and it took me a while to create a way so Dick got hypothermia without Bruce getting it. Originally they were both going to be working together which is why it was so hard and then I realized _solo mission_ anyway, hope you enjoyed it


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